BrainSurge
USA |no_episodes = 66 |runtime = 23 min. |network = Nickelodeon |first_aired = September 28, 2009 |last_aired = Present |nick_name = brainsurge |imdb_id = 1518893 |tv_com_id = 78086 }} BrainSurge is an American children's game show aired on Nickelodeon and hosted by Jeff Sutphen. The show taped its first season in February 2009, and debuted on September 28, 2009. The show's format was adapted from the Tokyo Broadcasting System game show Brain Survivor. The network announced on February 18, 2010 that the program was renewed for a second season, that will consist of 40 episodes, and will feature the same format without any known changes. The second season, which featured the 40 original episodes plus one episode held over from season one, premiered on June 21, 2010. Format BrainSurge's challenges are designed to test the memory and comprehension skills of its contestants. Level One The six contestants (known as the "Brainiacs") begin by playing five (six in season 1) visual puzzles, worth 10, 20, 30, 40 (season 1 only), 50, and 100 points each (for a potential maximum of 250 in season 1, and 210 in season 2). Each solution is a number that the players need to enter using their keypad. The contestants have 10 seconds to lock in their answers. The two lowest scoring contestants are eliminated from the game (with ties broken by average time to answer/number of questions answered correctly if necessary), and they (along with all other eliminated contestants hereafter) are sent down the "Brain Drain", a slide formed as a human ear containing "ear wax" slime. Level Two During the second round, the four remaining contestants are told a story from a book read by the host and are asked questions in turn about the story. The contestant who gets a question wrong is eliminated, pulled away on a chair covered in whoopee cushions through a paper "tooth" of a large face that is made to resemble Sutphen. This continues until two contestants are eliminated. This is followed by the Knockout round, where the two remaining contestants have ten seconds to memorize a 4x4 grid containing 8 pairs of images from the story. Once either contestant makes a mistake, the player who makes the next match wins the game in a sudden-death match. The three eliminated are then sent down the Brain Drain. Level Three: The Final Stage For the bonus round, the contestant must memorize and correctly recall patterns on 4x4, 5x5, and 6x6 sized illuminated floors. Six squares must be stepped on for the 4x4, eight squares are required for the 5x5 and ten squares are necessary for the 6x6. Each square has an actuator in the middle that must be stepped on to activate the square. Before the contestant starts, he or she is allowed to see the sequence twice. After completing each path successfully, the contestant must step on an actuator outside of the board to stop the clock and view the next path. The contestant is given a time limit of 90 seconds with decimal timing, and must return to the start and view the pattern again if they make a mistake. Each path cleared earns the contestant a prize, with each prize increasing in value across each floor, including the grand prize for completing the round, and the honor of being slimed in network tradition. If time runs out, she/he also must go down the Brain Drain, but still gets to keep the prize(s) earned up to that point. Specials Celebrity episodes Two celebrity episodes featuring Nickelodeon actors aired on November 30, 2009, with the winning celebrity contestant playing for a member of the studio audience who wins any prizes during the game in lieu of the celebrity, as if they were playing as a normal contestant. However, if the celebrity fails to complete all three levels in the final stage within 90 seconds, both the audience member and the celebrity are sent down the Brain Drain but if the celebrity does complete all three levels, the audience member and the celebrity will both get slimed. Two additional episodes featuring Nickelodeon celebrities were filmed in April 2010 to be aired during the second season of the series. Girls vs. Boys During the first week of the second season, the audience was divided into two sections, each with a group of a different gender. In each episode, all male contestants wore green and all female contestants wore purple. If a male contestant won, all male audience members received a green BrainSurge t-shirt. If a female contestant won, all female audience members received a purple t-shirt. Links Category:Nick Game Shows